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Horrors of World War I are relived as last survivors tell their tales in new series

“Very moving. Full of salutary reminders of the sacrifices made for the freedoms we enjoy today.” - UK Daily Mail

The Last Voices of the First World War is a unique and harrowing six-part documentary series featuring testimonials from more than 100 WWI veterans. This culmination of interviews captured over the last 15 years has been put together in one series for the first time, along with historic newsreel footage and dramatic reconstructions.

The series won a Royal Television Society Documentary Award (2009), praised for providing a unique historical record of a lost generation.

“Offers a vivid insight into the experiences of those who found themselves part of a war they did not understand”. – The Sunday Times

These quietly courageous men speak with stoicism in the face of unimaginable horror that is both humbling and inspiring. The contrast between the youthful optimism of volunteers and the unprecedented slaughter to come provides a deeply personal view of the British experience of the most traumatic war in human history.

CONTENTS INCLUDE:

Episode One - The Call to Arms

The declaration of war was greeted with a wave of patriotic euphoria as the British Expeditionary Force left for Belgium and 2 million men volunteered.

Episode Two - The Battle of the Somme

In the summer of 1916 high hopes of a breakthrough that would end the war only ended in stalemate and tragedy.

Episode Three - Saving the Wounded

The story of the human carnage that followed every battle and the struggle to save lives. We hear from nurses- and from men who were gassed, the shell shocked and the amputees who always remembered who saved them.

Episode Four - Horror in the Mud

The story of 1917 and the terrible battle of Passchendaele. Many drowned in mud in battles that remains synonymous with the horror of mechanized warfare.

Episode Five - The Home Front

The suffering of families at home in Britain. With the arrival of the dreaded telegram announcing the death of a loved one, family life changed forever.

Episode Six - The Boys of 1918

In spring 1918 thousands of young British conscripts were sent to France to make up the numbers. Many were taken prisoner. But by the summer the tide began to turn and the boys of 1918 helped turn defeat into victory.